SoxAce Posted October 26, 2004 Share Posted October 26, 2004 Carolina... Lousy----->Super Bowl----->Lousy In the span of three years. I agree to an extent, but I would consider them the NFL's biggest disapointment. Worst team.. Dolphins. Bears record could have been easily 3-2 (4-1 if you wanna push it) if everyone was healthy. Dolphins just suck. No Ricky=no winning season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hammerhead johnson Posted October 26, 2004 Share Posted October 26, 2004 College scouting reports actually do mean something. Its nearly impossible to judge an OL on your own, you have to rely on scouts that have seen lots of film of the player making blocks. You can't judge a group by how many rushing td's or how many INT's their QB has given up. You can have Jonathan Ogden, Alan Faneca, Kevin Mawae, Will Shields, and Orlando Pace as your line and if you have Jay Fiedler and Travis Minor in your backfield, you are going to have problems. Take a look at the Steelers for instance, last year they were last in rushing and the OL got alot of the blame. This year, they are in the top 10, the difference? Duce Staley. Same thing with the Panthers and no Stephen Davis or Deshaun Foster, the Cowboys when they lost Emmitt and nobody could fill in, when Jamal Lewis was suspended. Without a good back or a good QB, an OL will look terrible no matter what. I say that the college scouting reports don't mean much in that they are college scouting reports. The NFL is a whole new ball game. While there are diamonds in the rough here and there like Tom Nalen and Olin Kreutz, most quality teams have a mixture of high OL picks (first two rounds) and some quality free agents. Pittsburgh has a line...they have drafted high and added some quality free agents. Alan Faneca? Well, he was a 1st round pick, and he's quite possibly the best guard in the league. That is a major building block. I have no respect for any team that doesn't make the OL a top priority, or the top priority. And saying you can have all of those pro bowlers on the line and not have success? I have two words for you: Denver Broncos. Who are these guys? Droughns? Griffin? Gary? Anderson? In fact, it's the reverse which is true. Gale Sayers and Joe Montana would lose with this Miami line, but Jon Kitna and Olandis Gary would win with the Denver line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hammerhead johnson Posted October 26, 2004 Share Posted October 26, 2004 And by the way, I agree that their QBs and RBs are also putrid, but their line is up there with the worst lines in NFL history. You think that their O-Line looks bad because the QB and RB are so brutal? That's not the case. They're all pathetic, and they're led by the chief dumbass: Dave Wannstedt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DBAHO Posted October 26, 2004 Share Posted October 26, 2004 Atlanta went from I think 25th in rushing to 1st this season, with basically the same OL personnel, but they hired former Broncos OL coach Alex Gibbs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hammerhead johnson Posted October 26, 2004 Share Posted October 26, 2004 Atlanta went from I think 25th in rushing to 1st this season, with basically the same OL personnel, but they hired former Broncos OL coach Alex Gibbs. That's pretty crazy, although Vick and Dunn missed 16 games combined last year. Vick has 350 yards already through 7 games...assuming that he stays healthy and keeps up that pace, he'll have 800 rushing yards on the season. That is insane. That three-headed rushing attack with Vick, Dunn, and Duckett is almost enough to make up for their below average O-Line. I don't see them winning a playoff game, but if they had an above average line, they'd be the foremost Super Bowl contenders in the NFC next to the Eagles. If they had the Dolphins personnel, Vick would probably be injured for the year by now. When he's in the open field, he just kind of smoothly makes his way to the sideline and avoids contact, or if he can't get out of bounds, he knows precisely when to slide to avoid contact. But when he's scrambling backwards as three dudes are pursuing his ass, he's likely to severely sprain and ankle or some such. I hope that the Falcons are planning on acquiring some above average offensive linemen this offseason. It seems like common sense -- you want to protect your most valuable asset. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hammerhead johnson Posted October 26, 2004 Share Posted October 26, 2004 I also wanted to add that Atlanta is only averaging 167 passing yards per game, good for 30th overall in the NFL. That is all the more telling considering their weak schedule thus far. I don't think that Vick has any time to throw. Or maybe he can't throw, but not having any time to throw only compounds the problem. That O-Line will definitely hold them back from achieving anything. My money will be on their opponent in the playoffs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DBAHO Posted October 26, 2004 Share Posted October 26, 2004 I also wanted to add that Atlanta is only averaging 167 passing yards per game, good for 30th overall in the NFL. That is all the more telling considering their weak schedule thus far. I don't think that Vick has any time to throw. Or maybe he can't throw, but not having any time to throw only compounds the problem. That O-Line will definitely hold them back from achieving anything. My money will be on their opponent in the playoffs. Dan would have some more thoughts, he's a Falcons fan. They're trying some sort of West Coast Offense with Vick. But the thing is, no WR is hardly catching any balls at all, I believe Justin Griffith the FB and Alge Crumpler the TE are Atlanta's 2 leading receptors. That division is still wide open. Tampa Bay could come from way behind if Griese can manage the game well enough, and Pittman continues to run well like he did in his last game. And then there's the Saints who really should be up top with the talent they have on that team. At least with a healthy Deuce back, they can run the ball better now, but their defense still blows which it has for a few years now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hammerhead johnson Posted October 26, 2004 Share Posted October 26, 2004 Dan would have some more thoughts, he's a Falcons fan. They're trying some sort of West Coast Offense with Vick. But the thing is, no WR is hardly catching any balls at all, I believe Justin Griffith the FB and Alge Crumpler the TE are Atlanta's 2 leading receptors. That division is still wide open. Tampa Bay could come from way behind if Griese can manage the game well enough, and Pittman continues to run well like he did in his last game. And then there's the Saints who really should be up top with the talent they have on that team. At least with a healthy Deuce back, they can run the ball better now, but their defense still blows which it has for a few years now. Yeah, I'd like to hear from someone who has watched all of their games in depth, because their passing game on paper has been less than impressive. Peerless Price and Alge Crumpler...these guys are pro bowlers. Finneran ain't too shabby. I honestly consider Crumpler to be one of the two or three best tight ends in the league. You would think that their play action options would be murder on opposing teams, but apparently, that's not the case. I'd like to think that it's their lack of an O-Line, because they are looking damn good at the skill positions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DBAHO Posted October 26, 2004 Share Posted October 26, 2004 We should do a mid - season postseason prediction thread, and have a look at the differences between our thoughts now and what they were at the start of the season. Certainly been a lot of suprises which is what makes the NFL so great (unless you're a Bills, Bears or Dolphins fan). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NUKE_CLEVELAND Posted October 26, 2004 Share Posted October 26, 2004 I have to go with Da Bears because their offense is about as exciting as watching a snail do the 100 yard dash. Poor Urlacher, wasting what could be a HOF career on a team that cant score 21 points to save their own damn lives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hammerhead johnson Posted October 26, 2004 Share Posted October 26, 2004 We should do a mid - season postseason prediction thread, and have a look at the differences between our thoughts now and what they were at the start of the season. Certainly been a lot of suprises which is what makes the NFL so great (unless you're a Bills, Bears or Dolphins fan). Let's see, some of my preseason playoff teams: Panthers, Packers, Bucs, and Redskins in the NFC, and the Titans and Chiefs in the AFC. Teams I didn't have making the playoffs: Vikings, Falcons, Giants, Jets, Jaguars. But let's not dwell on the past. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EvilJester99 Posted October 26, 2004 Share Posted October 26, 2004 I have to say the Bears are the worst. Atleast the Fins have a QB that can complete a pass play..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palehosefan Posted October 26, 2004 Share Posted October 26, 2004 Thats the interesting thing about the NFL, a good OL style like the chop blocking Broncos can make any RB look good. Unfortunately the Dolphins don't have a good OL, or a good backfield. That we can agree on :-), also about Alge being one of the top 3 TE's, good call there also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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